New Director for Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy

The Huron River headwaters begin in this wooded swamp in Oakland County.

NEWS FROM: Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy

Christopher Bunch takes over the reins as executive director of the Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy, a partner of the Huron River Watershed Council in protecting high quality natural areas for watershed protection and health.

Bunch’s land conservancy leadership experience includes the executive directorship of Ohio’s Medina Summit Land Conservancy. He also served as field director of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Medina Summit Chapter. Since 2006 he has been a private consultant for land conservation, which has included work as contract land protection specialist for the Land Conservancy of West Michigan.

Through HRWC’s Bioreserve Program we have been working with the Six Rivers Land Conservancy to assess the ecological quality of natural areas in order to focus their protection efforts to lands most important to preserving the health of the Huron and its watershed.

The mission of Six Rivers is to “conserve, sustain and connect natural areas, lands and waters that make the places we live special.” The Six Rivers professional staff also includes Land Protection Specialist Dane Truscott, Stewardship Director Heather Huffstutler and Operations and Stewardship Manager Amanda Kowalski.

Six Rivers was founded in 1990 as the Oakland Land Conservancy. In 2008, when it began conservation in watersheds beyond the boundaries of Oakland County’s Rouge, Clinton and Huron, the conservancy took a new name to help describe the natural areas drained by the Flint, Shiawassee and Belle rivers. Its office is in the Paint Creek Cider Mill, 4480 Orion Road, Rochester 48306 (P.O. Box 80902, Rochester 48308).